green tint to tank?? updated with pic's

my water isn't very clear just did a water change and cleaned the aqua clear hob filter and it didn't help any suggestions
before

after









sorry about the horable pic's obvisoly not taken by mike

my system is just over a year old but i just added MH (2x 175????)might be 150's
about 2 months ago it also has a t5 glo system with a blue and a purple florescent bulbs.
72 bow with HOB aquaclear with sponge on bottom then bio balls (sm. amt) then white filter pad on top and a seagell carbon and phospate (i think )pouch had a magnium 350 with carbon and phosphate sponge but it added lots of small bubbles so kicked it off till i can get a better tank and it had HOB skimmer but it started leaking about 4 mo. ago so i turned it off ... wow now that im typing this out it sounds like my tank is falling apart ...makes me want a better system even more
sal. 1.022
Ca. about 430 to 450
ph 8.4
am. 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0


Edited by mr_tongate - November 09 2008 at 2:17am

yup .. Carbon! .. 

It could be due to any number of things. To give proper help and not send you off to get something that won't work, we need to see a pic of the tank and to know more about it's setup.
size, age, filtration, lighting, etc.


Edited by Mark Peterson - November 08 2008 at 1:01pm

updated with pics

Can you please take a full tank pic with only the MH's on?
I see a few clumps of hair algae on the left side that need immediate attention. More snails are needed and probably something more. Call me ASAP
The close ups show a lot of algae on the glass. That would give it a green appearance and when it is scraped off it will make the water green. Though that may not be the problem you are having.
If there is a lot of single celled algae (phytoplankton) growing in the water, AC will not do a thing about that but a clam would eat it up and an Ozonizer would kill it. To discover whether it is Phyto, take some tank water in a jar and set it in a warm but bright location and see if the green increases in a few days.
If the problem is a yellowing to the water, AC (activated carbon) is the best thing to use.
Also, the stuff you have in the HOB filter is mostly unnecessary. Take everything out except a bag of AC. The sponge isn't needed because there is a lot of stuff growing in the tank to eat up the stuff the sponge collects.
Discard the bioballs. They are not doing anything.
Call me if you have other questions.


Edited by Mark Peterson - November 09 2008 at 10:29am

i have two clams in there

What is your alk at?

Did you clean the glass of all green dots and let the water clear for a day before you took that pic? I wish I could stop by and check it out, but it's possible that your lighting is what is giving the green tint to what may be normal color water. What brand and how old are those 10,000K MH bulbs?
Without a UV Sterilizer or Ozonator the water of most reef tanks has a slight yellow-green tint. It's just accepted as typical.
How does the water look when you look down through it from the top? Can you take a clear glass or jar of tank water outside and see what color tint it has? If possible, take an outside  pic and post it here.


Edited by Mark Peterson - November 10 2008 at 9:44am

sorry everybody i had to go to Montana for a couple of days but ill get some water in a glass and post pics tomorrow if and when the sun comes out i don't have a sump skimmer started leaking so i dont have eather and i think its time for a uv sterilizer and i dont have test kits for alk rite now and my Ca is about mid 400's  but i dose kent pro buf DKH and liquid calisum every once in a while by adding a capfull next to the pwrhed


HOWEVER...... i got back from MT. tonight and my tank looks GREAT (still kinda green but i think maybe scrubbing off the glass and algae floating in water had a lot to do with it.)
even my corals are doing GREAT they all are FULLY extended and i havent seen that in a while  i mean it looks GREAT i wish mike lived nextdoor so he could take pics ........

rubbermaids ? how would i set that up ? and is there any D-Y-I overflows that have been good?
i think i do need new bulbs but i cant remember what it was that i bought from will 150's or 175's its a retro fit with sockets and a reflector but its a long ballast and im lost as to what i need.....?